Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, lit. "The Mysterious Disappearance of Sen and Chihiro") is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy-adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film tells the story of Chihiro Ogino, a sullen ten-year-old girl who, while moving to a new neighborhood and after her parents are transformed into pigs by the witch Yubaba, becomes trapped in an alternate reality that is inhabited by spirits and monsters. Chihiro takes a job working in Yubaba's bathhouse to find a way to free herself and her parents and escape back to the human world.
Miyazaki wrote the script after he decided the film would be based on his friend's ten-year-old daughter, who came to visit his house each summer. At the time, Miyazaki was developing two personal projects, but they were rejected. Production of Spirited Away began in 2000. During production, Miyazaki based the film's settings at a museum in Koganei, Tokyo. However,...